Some of the new Gophers have been on campus since January. Most of the team has flown halfway across the world together to test their skills against a few Italian squads. A handful of players spent time building their chemistry as teammates in summer leagues. Still, for all those situations taught us about the 2018 Gopher Soccer team, it’s nothing compared to what we’ll know after they finally suit up against Utah for their opening match on Friday night.

What we know so far

Here’s what we do know. After all the changes to thecoachingstaff and the roster, the Gophers will still try to play largely the same way. They want to posses the ball. They want to stretch the defense and open up high quality chances in high percentage areas of the box. Everyone – even the backline and keeper – needs to keep the ball moving and maintain quality spacing in order to make the offense flow.
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In the exhibition play we observed, things weren’t quite humming yet. But even without all the cogs connecting cleanly, the Gophers still created some dangerous chances. Head Coach Stefanie Golan especially praised the overall preparation of the squad, saying that across the board it was probably one of the most “ready to go” groups she’s seen (in terms of fitness, learning the system, etc). Still, she knows with so many new starters and rotation players, there is room to grow.

What others think
This is the first of many times where we’ll remind you that Golan has a level of interest in polls that can only be described as less than zero. But she probably doesn’t have a problem with US looking at them.

Across the board, opinions on the Gophers seem to be fairly consistent, if not overly optimistic. But when you dig into the specifics, it can get a little messy. For example, Minnesota finished last year in second place in the Big Ten but unfortunately ended up just missing out on the national tournament. For comparison, two different predictions have picked them to finish 6th or 8th in the conference this year – no doubt a finish that may land them outside the 64 team field. But they also received votes equivalent to being placed 34th in the whole country.

When Top Drawer soccer (one of the best places for comprehensive youth and college soccer coverage at the national scale) put together their Big Ten preview, they had this to say:

One side that has punched above its weight of late is Minnesota. The Golden Gophers bring back April Bockin and Molly Fiedler from a side that finished in second place. A tough non-conference schedule includes Utah and Stanford, so there’s no reason to believe that the team won’t be ready for the Big Ten grind. Despite that second-place finish in the regular season (tied with Northwestern) Minnesota missed out on the tournament, something they surely will wish to rectify this season.

They also gave Bockin and Fiedler some love in their preseason Top 20 list for Big Ten players. (Shhh. Don’t tell Top Drawer about Emily Heslin and Nikki Albrecht. It will spoil the surprise).

Who to watch for
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For all the talking other people might do, the Gophers are focused on what they’re doing on the field. A few notes to keep in mind when looking through my best guess at who may end up playing which roles for the squad:

Captain Emily Peterson is currently recovering from a spring ACL injury. So even though she’ll play a huge role in getting these new players up to speed and preparing them to compete at the Big Ten level, you won’t necessarily see her on the field itself.

It wasn’t uncommon for the entire backline to play the full 90 minutes last year while the midfield, and especially front three, rotated a bit more. Expect to see some rotation at the outside back positions. Part of that is the openness of the competition for minutes, but part of it is the fact that playing 90 minutes a game twice a weekend all fall is brutal. And only truly bonkers athletes can typically handle it their first year.

I haven’t figured out how to hack the coaches’ computers yet so I don’t know who will start at keeper. But here is my best guess at where players may land on the lineup sheet.

Solidly starting (60-90 minutes a game)

April Bockin: Dangerous winger. Returning starter. Kept the ball just a hair too long during the exhibition play we saw, but still absolutely frightening for opposing teams.

Molly Fiedler: Dynamic central midfielder. Super quick first step. Terrific balance. Not afraid to rip it from distance. She and Heslin deserve a collective nick name.

Nikki Albrecht: Shifted from outside to centerback. The ‘start from day one’ bonkers athlete I mentioned earlier. She and Bockin have both earned national team call ups.

Athena Kuehn: Showed mountains of potential as a freshman in the midfield. The mark of consistency. Uses her frame well in positioning and fighting for the ball.

Makenzie Langdok: Showed a real sense of spacing and timing in exhibition play. Should be a solid target forward to hold up play as others cut in from the wing.

Patricia Ward: Every single time the ball is at her feet you feel like she’s dangerous. Great athlete. Should have space to work with as the winger opposite Bockin.

Celina Nummerdor: Ready for a bigger role as a sophomore. Has a nice confidence on the ball. Could shift up the field for some minutes in the front three as well.

Delaney Stekr: Faced attack after attack in exhibition play and held together well. Seems up to the rough and tumble physical aspects on the backline, even if others also get minutes there.

Ana Aguado/Maddie Nielsen: Aguado seems to have the edge in terms of shot stopping. Nielsen seems to have the edge in terms of distribution and passing. Other than that, all we know is both worked their butts off over the summer and impressed the coaches.

Marisa Windingstad: Capable defender who has started in exhibition games. Expect her to be in the rotation whether starting or off the bench. Struggled with her passing a bit against SDSU.

Megan Gray: Swiss army knife? Utility player? Whatever. She can play all over. So, choose your metaphor. Saw minutes on all three lines in exhibition and seemed competent as a true freshman in each phase.

Maddie Castro: Also a bit of a utility player, but with some serious experience. Coaches love what Castro brings to the table. Expert to carve out a role off the bench.

TJ McKendrick: Returner who can take some minutes at midfield. Less physical and gritty than some others but nice touch at times with the ball.

McKenna Buisman: This is your regular reminder than you’ll have Buisman and Ward up front for the next FOUR years. Also a physical beast but she feels more dangerous off the ball as a cutter stretching the defense.

Arianna Del Moral: Great touch on the ball. Tall frame with the ability to work in tight spaces. Should see some nice midfield minutes.

Still in the fight

Catherine Billings, Haley Mennes, Haley Hartkemeyer, Lydia Ruppert : The starting outside back spots aren’t carved in stone, and spots in the rotation more broadly definitely aren’t. If any of these players show some real grit and hard work keeping up on defense, I’m guessing they get a shot at some spot minutes at least and possibly even regular time.

The Utah Cup*
At Utah – August 17th, 8PM
At Utah State – August 19th, 2PM